P5 LEQ

Period 5 (1844 - 1877)

1844 - Election year (James Polk), expansion west, balance between free and slave states, 1877- End of Recon

Election of 1844

Annexation of TX to U.S. is main issue, Polk advocates for annexation, Henry Clay wavers on the issue

MX - TX (1820 - 1836, CONTEXT)

MX allowed TX to move in for cattle industry, outlaws slavery in 1835 and restricts trade w/U.S., Battle of San Jacinto in 1836: TX gains independence and wants annexation to U.S. but Jackson says no to keep balance b/t states

James Polk (1845 - 1849)

MX-AM War, advocated for expansion west/Manifest Destiny, annexed TX in 1845, border dispute, war increased sectional tension, Wilmot Proviso forbids slavery (fails), Free Soil Party established

MX-AM War (1846 - 1848)

Started by U.S., border dispute (U.S. - Rio Grande, MX - Nueces River), __cause: Manifest Destiny__, Lincoln’s spot resolutions, Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, __effects: increased sectional tension/expand slavery?, Free Soil Party__

Election of 1848

Last stand of the Whig Party, Pres. Zachary Taylor

Zachary Taylor (1849 - 1850)

Dies in office--Pres. Millard Fillmore( 1850-1853), Compromise of 1850: CA free state, upsets balance, Personal Liberty Laws, Fugitive Slave Laws, Popular sovereignty below 36\*30’, causes Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin” realistic portrayal of slavery/increased abolitionism and sectionalism

Millard Fillmore (1850 - 1853)

Political fallout, Dems stronger nat. party: won both 2852 and 1856 election---weak leaders, continued expansion west and slavery dominated politics

Franklin Pierce (1853 - 1857)

Stephen Douglas’ KS-NE Act: ignited sectional tension that foreshadowed CW--repeals MO Compromise, North gets trans RR, South gets territory open to slavery through Pop. sovereignty, __effects: end of Whigs, Republican Party rises, led to violence b/t pro and anti-slavery forces (“Bleeding KS”/Pottawatomie Creek Massacre, Sumner-Brooks Affair)__, Dred Scott decision: Taney ruled blacks aren’t citizens--no legal rights/can’t sue--MO Compromise unconst.

James Buchanan (1857 - 861)

Lincoln-Douglas Debates: Lincoln says country can’t be 1/2 & 1/2---Douglas says can through popular sovereignty/Freeport Doctrine, Dems try to compromise on slavery, Reps known as anti-slavery, John Brown’s Raid: became martyr, increased fear of slave revolts, threats of secession, Election of 1860: Lincoln won, Crittenden Compromise: guarantee slavery below 36\*30’ (fails), Corwin Amendment: state control of slavery w/o fed interference (never ratified)

Election of 1860

Lincoln won, effect: SC seceded, led to Secession Crisis

Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865)

Secession Crisis: SC and 6 other Deep South states secede to form CSA, CSA based on states’ rights but states cannot interfere w/slavery (contradictory), Lincoln wants to preserve union, believed individuals seceded but knew CSA saw itself as separate nation, Fort Sumter: began CW, four more states secede including VA, CW, Reconstruction

Civil War (1861 - 1865)

CSA: war of independence, Union: War to preserve Union then abolish slavery, causes: industry v. agriculture, states’ rights v. national power, pro v. anti-slavery forces, abolitionism, election of 1860/Lincoln, manpower and firepower key to Union victory, Nat. Banking Act: sys. of nat. banks and currency (greenbacks), Anaconda Plan, suspension of habeas corpus, cotton diplomacy failed, Emancipation Proclamation issued, 54th MA: 1st black regiment of war, 13th amendment abolishes slavery, Freedmen’s Bureau, Homestead Act, effects: planter elite destroyed, GEO and ENV damage, no pol. prowess, North econ dominate, Rep. Party powerful majority, Lincoln assassinated

Turning Point Battles

Battle of Vicksburg: Union victory that took MS River and split CSA in two (Anaconda Plan), Appomattox Court House: Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant

Emancipation Proclamation (1863)

Freed enslaved people in any rebel state under U.S. occupation, former slaves could be considered for service in army, guarantied freedom for all slaves is U.S. won, prevented GB from allying w/CSA, changed OBJ of war: preserve Union → abolish slavery

Reconstruction (1861 - 877)

Lincoln’s 10% Plan, Wade Davis Bill: Rad Reps, 50% loyalty oath, Lincoln’s assassination, pres. Andrew Johnson, black codes, “forfeited rights” theory, CRA of 1866/1875, 13th, 14th, and 15th amendment, military recon act, reform: prop rights for women, universal male suffrage, Tenure of Office Act unconst., KKK/Enforcement Act of 1871, Juneteenth, education, Exoduster Movement (Benjamin “Pap” Singleton), A.M.E churches, sharecropping/tenant-farming

End of Reconstruction (1872 - 1877)

Segregation and Jim Crow Laws commonplace, difficult for blacks to leave South, Dems regain control in most ex-rebel states, Rep. Party split in two: Lib Reps, Reps not as powerful, Rads lose influences over moderates, Panic of 1873, Indian Wars diverted military resources, Grant scandals: Credit Mobilier, Gold Market Scandal, Compromise of 1877

Election of 1876

Recon govts in 3 states, Tilden (Dem) won popular vote but votes in recon states disputed, Hayes (Rep) becomes pres, last of fed. troops withdraw from South and Dems return to power (Compromise of 1877), Recon ends